Rooftop Explorers

So much to see, so much to do.

Count down to Rooftop’s 20th Auction & Children’s Art Show. In the next 2.5 weeks, we will send you updates on exciting items that could be yours on March 9th! For a complete listing of these and other auction items, visit our online catalog often as new items are added daily: http://auction.rooftopk8.org/catalog/

City Hall Tour

Go behind the scenes with chief of staff & meet the Mayor

Dive into San Francisco’s political scene with Steve Kawa, Rooftop dad and chief of staff to Mayor Ed Lee. Steve has called City Hall home for more than 20 years and he invites you to join him on a special tour only available to four lucky Rooftop Auction winners. Steve’s knowledge and wit will guarantee a memory to last a lifetime and if that wasn’t enough, you will also have the opportunity to meet Mayor Ed Lee. So get ready and start bidding!

Mission District Food Tour – Avital Tours

Feeling slightly overwhelmed with the many restaurant options in ‘foodie town’ San Francisco? Leave it to Avital Ungar, local tour guide, food geek, contemporary art enthusiast to set your straight. Avital takes you behind the scenes of Mission District’s favorite eateries to meet chefs, restaurant owners and industry experts! After your visit of five restaurants (with generous tastings at each), you’ll leave the tour a veritable expert in the local scene, complete with a map of more neighborhood hotspots to try on your own and plenty of native trivia with which to impress (or annoy) your friends. Check out Avital Tours’ website.

The Good, The Bad and The Down Right Ugly

A Walking Tour of Downtown SF Architecture

A three hour walking to tour of Downtown SF architecture with Rooftop’s very own architect dads Greg Mottola and Tom Sprinkle. Let Greg and Tom school you on the finer points of SF architecture. Together our dynamic duo has TK (Tom has almost 25) years experience in the business, designing high-end buildings and retail stores from the Bay Area, to Shanghai, to Istanbul. Best of all they have A LOT of opinions about the cityscape of our beloved San Francisco. This is not a historical tour, but a survey of buildings and structures they fine the most interesting–and the most awful. After they’ve exhausted all of their knowledge, the group will relax at the TK bar near Market Street for post-tour drinks and snacks. Only eight spots available.
Date: TBA, Time:10am – 2:00pm, Price $40.00/ person – 8 tickets available

Mission Murals Tour

We are lucky to live in an amazing city that is full of culture and color and it doesn’t get much more colorful than the vibrant Mission (or for hipsters: the Mish). It is here where you can find the powerful murals of Balmy Alley; all done by passionate, talented and socially aware artists with fervor and a meaningful voice. To better understand the symbolism in some of the murals and the background of the artists, you do not want to miss this 2-hour tour with tourguide extraordinaire Anita Rao. Twenty spots available – grab one (or two or three) or the tour will leave without you!
Date: TBA, 10:30am – 12:30pm, $25.00 per person – 20 tickets available

Filoli House and Garden

Filoli is so lovely you feel like you have walked onto a movie set. Wait, you have! You’ve seen it in Joy Luck Club, The Game and it was home to Blake and Crystal Carrington in Dynasty (who could ever forget the shoulder-padded eighties?). But it is also one of the Bay Area’s best-kept secrets that you will love to explore. If you aren’t into pastoral views, walking into a time warp of wealth and beauty, art, nature, baby deer, colors, peaceful quiet and romance then this may not be your thing. But bring your mother on Mother’s Day and she’ll be forever grateful.

The Urban Safari Tour

You’ve surely seen them around town: zebra-striped vehicles, tourists with camera ready and a driver/tourguide wearing a pith helmet joyfully pointing out SF landmarks. Don’t let the exotic outfit fool you: these tours are not *just* gimmicky, in fact, these tours are highly personalized. The safari folks research what events take place just that day so that they can improvise based on your interests. Culture, Cuisine or Castro? Nopa, Soma or Fidi? No problem – hop on board. Great for savvy natives or out-of-town guests. Check out the Urban Safari’s website here: theurbansafari.com.

About Saskia Charbonneau

Saskia is currently the PTA president and has two children at Rooftop: a third-grade boy and a first grader.